Rise Daily: March 16

Rise Daily: March 16

THIS WEEK’S THEME & PASSAGE

Public Faith – John 4:27-42

This week’s sermon from the series “Where We are Going: The City and the Mission“

THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE

Memorizing scripture is a way to keep God’s word close to our hearts. Each week we will select one verse of scripture to remember as a community.

1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

THE WORD

Each day’s devotion will focus on one part of the week’s passage.

John 4:25–26
²⁵ The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” ²⁶ Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”

MEDITATION ON THE WORD

In our busyness and distraction, it is easy to skim through our reading rather than taking it in. Yet we believe this is the inspired word of God. Take a moment to pause, thank God for the scriptures and ask him to speak to you through them today.

Jesus never took a “one size fits all” approach in his dealings with people. At the same time, the people he engaged with responded to different aspects of his character, message and mission. This portion of the exchange between Jesus and the Samaritan woman illustrates this in a way that we might easily miss.

Many biblical commentators have pointed to a contrast between the Jewish and the Samaritan expectations of the long hoped-for Messiah. The Jewish conception stressed Jews’ political expectations: the Messiah would be the great King of David’s line. But the Samaritans, a mixed race of Jews and Canaanites, had developed their own system of worship. Theirs included a particular view of the Messiah, which was patterned after Moses and characterized by his prophetic teaching ministry—a rabbi of rabbis.

This is the kind of Messiah the Samaritan woman and her people awaited: “We know when the Messiah comes, he will teach us all things.” Jesus listened to her and responded, “I who speak to you am he.”

The point isn’t that Jesus was affirming that any kind of worship is fine as long as it’s sincere, or, that basically, all conceptions of God are equally valid. (He clearly distinguished doctrinally sound from unsound worship in verse 22: “You worship what you do not know; but we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.”) What he does affirm is that he is the true satisfaction of every culture’s longing in a perfect leader: one who wields supreme wisdom, strength and justice, and who establishes peace and prosperity. He affirmed what was right about the Samaritan expectation, and his own unique fulfillment of that hope.

As we share our faith with others, we need to listen, as Jesus did with the Samaritan woman, to hear the desires of their hearts in order to know how to communicate that Jesus is the fulfillment of their own relevant longings and expectations.

THIS WEEK’S RISE REFLECTION

The Rise season is not only a defining moment for Redeemer, it can also be a defining moment for you. We can’t reach a tipping point by making Redeemer bigger, we need a people-driven movement of New Yorkers sharing the gospel in our neighborhoods, workplaces and relationships. Consider how God is calling you to rise and share your faith.

TODAY’S PRAYER

For your Heart: Pray for God to show you the ways you have sought out your own “long hoped-for messiahs” outside of him.

For your Church: Pray for God to continue to mold us into a community that is compassionate to those who do not yet believe, remembering that we all struggle—regardless of our faith—with falsely holding on to expectations of what will fulfill our deepest desires.

For our City: Pray for people all over the city that are deeply hurting and seeking what will truly satisfy, love, affirm and ground them.